The analysis report reveals that buyers are seeking land with planning consent to add to their reserves, although good quality land in UK regions is of short supply.
Land values in most regions have shown slight growth over the first quarter of 2013, mirrored by tentative signs of increased activity in the housing market.
According to the Council for Mortgage Lenders, gross lending has increased for the sixth consecutive month, with first time buyers now accounting for 42% of mortgages.
‘We believe that government housing initiatives will help drive underlying confidence in the market. Help to Buy could support around 215,000 further mortgages per year,’ said Jennet Siebrits, head of residential research at CBRE.
‘Although not all of these transactions will be linked to new build homes, it should strengthen confidence in land buying, as purchasers will look to access an active market,’ she added.
The report says that in London developers looking to increase output over the next two years and are seeking consented brown field sites that can accommodate 50 to 150 units. Smaller consented Brownfield sites are showing strong projections of return on investment.
In the south east and centre of England demand from house builders has led to a pick up in activity, however, supply remains restricted. ‘Good quality, consented, green field sites are consequently centre of high levels of interest. Volume house builders are targeting consented schemes, whereas Property Company’s are honing in on the unconsented,’ the report points out.
National house builders are hungry for sites that can accommodate 50 to 200 units in the south west of the country, but here too the supply of land remains constrained. New entrants to the market have bolstered demand for strategic housing sites, says the report.
While in the Midlands improved sentiment in the market has led to better rates of sales and strengthened market demand. PLCs with gaps in the pipeline in 2014 are looking for consented land that is ready for immediate development.
Activity in the North has remained relatively static over the last quarter. However, the report says that PLCs and national house builders have ramped up their purchase requirements, causing land values for the best sites to rise.
In Scotland increasing levels of equity are leading house builders to bid for medium to large sites appropriate for family housing. However, the report adds that unless very well located, there is little demand for unconsented sites.